Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Presidential withdrawal’

Biden to permanently close much of the OCS to oil and gas leasing? Should Sec. 12(a) of OCSLA be repealed or revised?

Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , , on January 4, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Sec. 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA, 43 U.S. Code § 1341(a)): “The President of the United States may, from time to time, withdraw from disposition any of the unleased lands of the outer Continental Shelf.”

As previously posted, the Sec. 12(a) authority has been cynically exercised by Presidents from both parties and should be repealed or revised.

Unsurprisingly, there are now reports that President Biden intends to permanently withdraw large areas of the OCS from leasing consideration before he leaves office in 2 weeks. Apparently, the leasing ban will include large segments of the Atlantic, Pacific, and the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

Sec. 12(a) facilitates (encourages?) rash, politically motivated decisions that could have major long-term implications for energy security and the economy, and allows Presidents to ignore the deliberate, multi-phase review and comment process that has been established for making leasing decisions.

Note that Presidents have exercised this authority seven times. In every case, the action was taken just prior to the end of the President’s term in office.

Questions:

  • Can a President reverse a Sec. 12(a) decision made by a predecessor? That is a massive legal question that has yet to be fully considered by the legal system.
  • Could legislative action reverse a Sec. 12(a) decision? Yes, but such legislative action would be difficult to enact (just as it would have been difficult for any of the Sec. 12(a) withdrawals to have been enacted legislatively).
  • Is a revision to Sec. 12(a) being considered? Not that I am aware of. Given that the authority has been exercised by both parties and that strong opposition is likely, a revision would be challenging.

Related:

Read Full Post »

Repeal or revise Sec. 12(a) of OCSLA!

Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , on May 28, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Sec. 12(a) of OCSLA (43 U.S. Code § 1341(a)): “The President of the United States may, from time to time, withdraw from disposition any of the unleased lands of the outer Continental Shelf.”

The language “from time to time” implies that withdrawing OCS lands from oil and gas leasing consideration is a casual exercise at the whim of the President for any particular reason. That is indeed how the provision has been implemented.

Alaska Presidential withdrawals are shaded (BOEM map)
Atlantic and GoM withdrawals are shaded (BOEM map)

Over the last 8 years, Presidents Obama, Trump, and Biden have unilaterally exercised this authority without prior notice or opportunity for public comment. Their actions were timed to extend oil and gas leasing prohibitions well beyond their term in office (perhaps permanently), seek an edge in an upcoming election, or sacrifice OCS leasing in an attempt to placate opponents of another executive decision. More specifically:

In light of the rather cynical abuses of this authority and their potential economic and national security implications, Congress should consider repealing Sec. 12(a) of OCSLA or revising the language to limit the timing, scope, and duration of such withdrawals, and establish a process that prevents the withdraw of lands without fully considering the potential implications.

Read Full Post »

Bye bye Beaufort. So many memories😢

Posted in Alaska, energy policy, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 15, 2023| Leave a Comment »

The shrinking of the OCS oil and gas program continues. In an attempt to placate opponents of the Willow project, the President has removed the entire Beaufort Sea from oil and gas leasing consideration. Unsurprisingly, the opponents of Willow are no less irate.

Under the authority granted to me in section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1341(a), I hereby withdraw from disposition by oil or gas leasing for a time period without specific expiration the areas designated by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management as the Beaufort Planning Area of the Outer Continental Shelf that have not previously been withdrawn.  

White House directive

The 5 Hilcorp leases identified above (Northstar and Liberty projects) are all that remains of the once promising Beaufort Sea planning area.
The Kulluk, pictured above, was a unique conical shaped and ice strengthened drilling vessel that operated in the US and Canadian Beaufort from 1983-1993.
BP’s Mukluk well being drilled from an artificial island in the US Beaufort Sea in 1983. The $120 million exploratory well was the most expensive in history, but did not find commercial quantities of hydrocarbons.

Historical background

Read Full Post »